History
A Very Short Taijiquan History
Taijiquan has been practiced by vast numbers of Chinese over centuries. In recent years, particularly in the last half of the 20th century, the practice has spread to other countries and to the west.
Taiji is a distinct branch of what are usually called Gong Fu in Chinese. Gong Fu means something like “practiced skill,” and includes all empty-handed and armed martial arts, as well as the modern Wushu, which is more a competitive athletic form.
The word “Taiji” first appeared in the Yi Jing (the Book of Changes) of the Zhou Dynasty (1122—256BC). Taijiquan is often translated as "The Supreme Ultimate Form" (Delza, others). However, the most accurate translation is more like "The Great Extremes Boxing." The Great Extremes refers to the Taiji diagram and represents the motion and interplay of universal forces as reflected in the Taiji practitioner's body and mind as the form is played.
The apocryphal founder of Taijiquan is Chang San-Feng, born April 9, 1247. It was Chang San-Feng who supposedly added elements from the Yi Jing as well as Taoist breathing/movement techniques, called Qi Gong, to early Chinese martial arts exercises. Unifying the outer development of traditional martial forms with inner spiritual awareness, he developed a new form that more approximated what we now call Taijiquan.
It is said that Chang developed his Taiji based on his observation of animal movements. There are many fantastic stories about Chang and his abilities, most having to do with controlling his breath, his physical movement, or his sensory perception. Jou Tsung Hwa in his book The Tao of T’ai Chi Ch’uan (see the Bibliography) says that Chang “transformed Tai-Chi Chuan from a martial technique into a way of improving the body, mind and spirit."
Another theory of Taijiquan's start, according to Wushu historian Tang Hao, is that Taijiquan was first exercised and practiced among Chen family members at the Chenjia Valley which is located in Wenxian County in Henan Province. The earliest choreographer of the Taiji boxing was Chen Wang-Ting who was both a scholar and a martial artist. Chen combined a knowledge of the positive and negative philosophy described in the Yi Jing and Chinese medical theory of passages and channels of blood, air flow and energy inside the human body with the exercises and practices of Wushu (martial sport forms). He began teaching at the collapse of the Ming Dynasty (1644) in his hometown after serving as an army officer for a number of years.
The most popular and widespread forms of Taijiquan are:
